Woman Warrior Wednesdays #21 by Kate Krimson

Wonder Woman #610-DC Comics-$2.99
4.5 out of 5 stars
Summary:


In Manhattan, Giganta, a female warrior who can sometimes be as big as her name implies, is destroying much of the city in search of Diana/Wonder Woman. A woman appears and magically takes Giganta to another place, where the Morrigan, Cheetah, and Artemis are. These are Giganta’s teammates in trying to bring down Wonder Woman. Artemis is telling the others about how she was defeated by Doctor Psycho.


In the meantime, Wonder Woman wakes up in a hospital bed with a doctor and a nurse by her side. Her bed has blanket that is covered with stars. The doctor tells Diana that she was extremely close to dying. The doctor leaves and the nurse who is also named Diana hands Wonder Woman her clothes and kick-butt accessories. Nurse Diana tells Wonder Woman that the blanket came from an old lady, Myra Clotho, who just came out of a coma and made the blanket as soon as she heard that Wonder Woman was in the hospital. Wonder Woman puts the blanket on like a cape and pays a visit to Myra.


Myra, a fate, tells Wonder Woman that she is the only one who can stand up against an ultimate evil and that justice chose her when she saved a bird that Artemis had shot down. Myra gives Wonder Woman the strand of string that contains her fate. A Kere, a death-spirit, comes to take away Myra Wonder Woman defeats it by showing it compassion and by telling it to be free, but Myra still dies. Then all the Keres go free in Hades, which makes Charon, aka the man who takes the dead across the rivers of Acheron and Styx, cry because he knows it means someone has forgiven them.


Diana says farewell to Myra’s dead body and then is attacked by Giganta. Wonder Woman kicks her out of the building. Steve Trevor sees everything. Wonder Woman says hi to him, but she is not sure why she knows him. Artemis tries to shoot Wonder Woman, but the arrows are blocked by her wristbands. Wonder Woman captures Artemis with her lasso and reveals to her the truth that the Morrigan had hid from her. Artemis is ashamed of herself and asks Wonder Woman to kill her, but she says it would be better if Artemis helped her fight the Morrigan. Giganta tries to attack Wonder Woman, but she brings Giganta to the ground with a smash.


Wonder Woman, Giganta, Artemis, and Cheetah come upon the Oracle of Themyscira. Wonder Woman says she does not want to know the will of the gods, but plans on killing a few.


Writers (J. Michael Straczynski and Phil Hester): A story must have action for readers to want to continue on the journey that flows through the pages. If this comic does not have enough action for you, then you are hard to please. There are plenty of fight scenes to keep one entertained, but also there is the revealing of a hero’s fate and the releasing of the Keres from their curse.


Illustrator (Eduardo Pansica): Pansica’s depictions of fierce fighting females almost make the reader jump back from the page. Giganta standing on top of a statue she smashed with her hair being blown back as she lets out a roar with her battleaxe in her hand. The Kere with her blazing red eyes and giant bat-like wings climbing towards Myra. Giganta leaping towards Wonder Woman like a growling hungry tiger. Wonder Woman telling the gods that she coming for them.


Pansica also draws the characters with real emotions on their faces. Anger clearly comes through on the faces of Cheetah, Giganta, and Artemis as the march out to find Wonder Woman and attempt to destroy her. Happiness shines through the eyes of Myra as she looks upon the only one who can defeat the ultimate evil. Shame pours itself out of Artemis when she realizes the wrong that she has done.

French Food Night by Freddy G

This weekend Kate Krimson and I sauntered over to France for this week’s cultural meal. We cooked Beef Bourguignon, a traditional French recipe once considered a peasant dish, and some chocolate soufflés.


Beef Bourguignon consists of braised beef in red wine and is stewed with onions, carrots, and mushrooms. This recipe came from Julia Child's book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”
The consensus among all who tasted our dish was that it was delicious. We think it may have been one of the better dishes we've prepared thus far.

Beef Bourguignon

Kate with her serving of Beef Bourguignon

Kate serving up the Beef Bourguignon

It was followed later with a chocolate soufflé. It was served hot and was absolutely gooey and decadent.. This recipe came from food vlogger “BoyEatsWorld” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxccmuSrn3s ).

Chocolate Soufflé

Freddy G with the Chocolate Soufflé

                             Me wearing a beret and fake mustache that Freddy G made

                                   Freddy G wearing a beret and fake mustache that he made

The entire evening went great and I hope you all give French cuisine a try yourselves. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Indian Food Night by Kate Krimson


Freddy G and I prepared some Indian food on Saturday night. While we prepared our first recipe, naan (a flatbread), we listened to a CD of traditional Indian music that Freddy G checked out from the library. We used a recipe from Fine Cooking (http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/homestyle_indian_naan.aspx). I thought it came out good. It was a bit chewy, but overall it was a fine bread.

For the main course, we made Tandoori Chicken (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tandoori-Chicken-238388) I could not find vindaloo paste, when I went shopping, so we made it from scratch. I accidently used more ginger than I was supposed to, but I think the dish still came out okay.

Our final recipe was Mango Lassi (http://tv.disney.go.com/disneychannel/passtheplate/index.html). If you like fruit in general or if you just like mango, it’s a great easy recipe. I’m not a huge fan of either, so it was not my favorite thing in the world.

Next, we will be preparing some French food.

Japanese Food Night by Freddy G

Hello YES MA'AM Blog readers,


Kate Krimson and I had our “Journey to Japan” food excursion this weekend. Since Japan was my idea, I took the helm when planning our menu and am also writing today’s post.


The meal began with Soba buckwheat noodles served in a broth consisting of Dashi (soup stock), mirin and soy sauce.


After making the dough, cutting, and boiling the noodles we can understand why most people in modern Japan opt for instant noodles. Okay, so for a first try the soup was pretty good, though the noodles were a little chewy.

Me Rolling Out the Soba Noodle Dough

Soba Noodles in Dashi

Kate Slurping a Soba Noodle

                                                         Me Slurping a Soba Noodle

I discovered a recipe for “Pork Cutlets and Rice” in a Japanese cookbook from the library. Fried pork cutlets coated in Panko and served over rice with a kind of eggy, oniony type of sauce. Not bad and Kate chose brown rice which made this dish all the more healthy.

                                                              The Pork Cutlets and Rice
To accompany the meal I chose Sake, a traditional Japanese wine made from rice rather than a fruit. Our drink preferences run closer to mixed drinks rather than straight alcohol. I expected something a little sweeter, and the straight sake just made Kate cringe. So after mixing it with some cranberry juice it became quite drinkable.

                                                              Sake with Cranberry Juice
All in all I have to say that the authenticity is what one would expect from amateur home cooks.
For a first foray into the realms of Asian cuisine it was a good try.


Next week we will be cooking Indian food.